Monday's flight from Brussels to London was uneventful. No worries at customs this time, my work papers were in order. I arrived at my apartment, which is directly across from the venerable Comptons in Soho. My digs are quite comfortable, and at a very reasonable price. The view from the window is a sociological study, watching people watch people walk by.



Last night's show at Bush Hall was very good, sold out for weeks in advance. There are tickets remaining for tonight's show at Dingwalls. I am feeling much better this afternoon. Thanks to everyone who sent along their well wishes. Only three shows to go, then a long weekend in DC.

The Glasgow show was great, good crowd participation all evening long. I hope to be able to come back soon, lots of positive energy. A few ours sleep, then off to the airport. The flight to Brussels was uneventful - big seats throughout the plane. I like SN Brussels - good service and a comfortable plane.

The day off was welcome. Thank goodness for GPS in my rental car. I slept a little, then went out for a long walk, a nice dinner, and a few drinks with the Brussels bears.

Saturday morning, I drove down to Antwerp for the day's work. I hooked up with an old friend of mine, and he was kind enough to show me around the town. Belgium is quite scenic, and the people are very quiet and respectful. Good mass transit, and a stunning cathedral. A nice dinner and dessert, and off to work.

The evening's show was part of "De Nachten" festival. Lots of bands, poets, writers, and a very nice venue. I went on stage quite late, and I think the crowd may have been as worn down as I was. Nice set, though.

Sunday, a short drive to Gent. Walked around the town, and sat for another Belgian steak and frites dinner. Between the fries, cheese, bread, and chocolate, I am ballooning up (but I need the comfort food right now!). An hour before the show, I was stricken with a stomach virus. It wiped me out instantly. I managed to do the entire show; out of necessity, I went with a very downbeat route. The crowd was appreciative and understanding, and everyone at the venue was very helpful. I am now in bed, and not feeling well at all. Tomorrow is a long day: drive to Brussels, fly to London, taxi to the apartment, taxi to sound check and gig (which is sold out). I am doing my best to hold up - this is a very difficult flu.

The UK shows have been going very well. Bristol was sold out, Cambridge was a respectable crowd, and Nottingham was pretty full. Tonight's show in Glasgow is sold out. I really like Glasgow, it's a very pretty city, and looks to have a lot of things going on in the city center. I'm off to the airport at 6 AM for tomorrow's flight to Brussels, so I doubt I will be getting much sleep this evening.

The new guitar is working out OK. It's not as crazy sounding as the old 12 string, but there's certain things that make it much easier to use. It stays in tune much better, and since it's a solid body acoustic, I can turn it up as loud as I want without getting feedback through the stage monitors. It's a little stiff to play, but each day it feels a little better. I'll fix it up when I return to DC.

Pictures from the most recent BLOWOFF can be found at MW. More later.

January 22, 4 PM CET, en route to Heathrow

The two shows in Greece went well. The audience in Thessaloniki on Friday was a bit reserved. Another early flight to Athens. I viewed my first "Avian Influenza" sign at the airport - and promptly ordered a chicken sandwich. Don't ask me why - I didn't realize it until I had eaten half of it. At that moment, it seemed to make sense to finish eating.

A beautiful Saturday afternoon spent at Acropolis - simply amazing. The Athens crowd was vocal in their approval. I am slowly getting used to the new guitar. The action is too high at the nut, so I'll have a look at that when I have a moment (and some tools). My POD is not working, so I am patching together a pedal board for the remainder of the Europe dates. It's fine.



What isn't fine: my work papers did not arrive. I am uncertain as to what to do when I arrive at Heathrow. I could "lie by omission" and get into the country, or tell the entire truth and risk spending the evening with the immigration officials. I don't enjoy these situations: I would hope that my telling the truth would lead them to allowing me entry, but I fear it will simply spiral out of control. Needless to say, this has not been a pleasant afternoon.

January 23, 12:30 AM, Bristol UK

Yes, I made it through. Unbelievable. The young woman was polite, but told me I would be detained. I had it in my head that I would be stuck at immigration until the booking office opened on Monday morning. After a few further visits from the young woman (including me waiving my rights and submitting to a background query), it wasn't looking good at all. The next time I saw her, there was a fellow bounding up the stairs behind her. He came toward me and said "this is unbelievable". I concurred, and apologized for this oversight. He then said (paraphrasing), "I know - I've been a life long fan of your music. Here's your passport, you are free to enter." And that was that. Unreal. I still can't believe it. The young woman asked to give him my autograph, as he was too shy to ask himself. He saved my ass, and the tour. Much thanks. What a crazy afternoon! Thank God it went the way it did.

My buddy Mark met me on the civilian side, Land Rover keys in hand, and now we are happily ensconced in Bristol. It's a chilly night, and the gay bars in Bristol are filled with smoke. Big tobacco town, Bristol was / is. First UK show is tomorrow. Jet lag is finally sorted. I am hoping for a fun and productive week.

January 18, 5 PM ET, Dulles Airport

My apologies for the light posting the past few weeks. Between out of town guests, BLOWOFF, MAL, and an enormous personal matter, I have had not one spare minute. I was getting more sleep during MAL weekend than I have the last three days. All is good at the moment. I'm sitting at IAD, waiting to depart for Thessaloniki, via Vienna. The tour starts Friday evening, and continues for two weeks.

MAL weekend started with the overly packed Titan Happy Hour. Lots of bloggers and leathermen mixing with the usual bear crowd. Rich, Nick and I headed over to Halo, then on to Duplex for a late dinner.

Saturday afternoon, headed to the MAL host hotel. Lots of gear for sale, each year a little edgier than the previous one. Ran into lots of buds, dropped off flyers for the party, and headed into the cold evening. BLOWOFF was awesome. A packed house, a good live performance, new visuals, and a mixed and varied crowd made for a wonderful evening. Other than the glitch at coat check (which was quickly rectified), it could not have gone better. Thanks to everyone who turned out for the event. The Rammstein remix is done. It sounded great on Saturday night, and I think they're using it on the new single. Vince Clarke is also scheduled to contribute a mix.

Sunday, a little more shopping time at the hotel. I didn't buy anything this year, but was tempted by the Nasty Pig rubber apron. Perfect for summer cooking on the deck!

The past three days have given me very little occasion to sleep. Thank you thank you thank you to W and S for getting me through the matter in one piece. All is good. I am thrilled to be doing nothing but sitting on an airplane for the next 9 hours!

January 18, 6:30 PM ET, OS 94 to Vienna

I am loving life at the moment. An entire row of 4 interior seats! Austrian Airlines have very colorful planes, lots of red and green blankets and pillows. The staff is very efficient and direct.

January 19, 8:30 AM CET, Vienna

4 seats in a row to myself + xanax = a decent night's sleep. A few hours to kill befire the flight to Thessaloniki. I'm in the land of very strong coffee, so I'm happy. Fresh as a daisy. I like Austrian Airlines so far. The flight to Greece is 90 minutes long.

January 20, 6 PM EET, Thessaloniki

Beautiful city. The promoter reps treated me to a wonderful meal, and then drove me around the city. The old part of town (2800 years old!) is beautiful, the original fortress walls are still standing. Stayed up way too late last night, so my jet lag is going to be a problem for the next few days. Been working on my guitars today, I'm hoping the new one works out. I'm a little nervous (a lot, actually) about using it, but I think it will be fine.

A nice article in this week's MW. I no longer fit into my favorite camo jeans. Bring on the muumuu.

I'm almost finished with the sanctioned remix of "Mann Gegen Mann" by Rammstein. My remix is a little slower, added some extra guitar, new beats, chop chop.

BLOWOFF this Saturday night. The first of the main room series at the 9:30 Club.

MAL weekend. The sexy leathermen of North America descend upon our fair Capital. Washington Plaza is the host hotel.

Watch this video!

A very quiet week for me. A head cold started settling in at Christmas dinner, and I've been under the weather ever since. I've been sleeping most of the time, but was able to muster the energy for a few fun activities.

Two out-of-town friends were in DC for the week; we had a great meal at Jackie's, a steak house lunch, and some neighborhood clothes shopping.

Thursday night, a bunch of us went bowling. I have been accused of being a show off; let's say I did surprisingly well. Went to see Trans Am later that evening, but got chased out by the smoke. (I can't wait for DC's smoking ban to take effect.)

Friday night, a quick trip to Happy Hour, and back to bed.

New Year's Eve was a great time. It's the one night of the year I dread leaving the house, I always feel as if there's too many amateur drunks on the streets and highways. Last year, I hosted. This year, Hot Joe did the honors, and we had a great evening. Good food, great company, games, too much time on the computer looking at blogs - yeah, that's it, blogs.

2005 was one of the best years of my life. Thanks to all my good friends who were able to share it with me. It's time to take down the tree, pack up the ornaments, and dive head first into 2006!

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A nice mention in the Oregonian.

A nice mention in the home town paper.

A nice mention in the Chicago Sun-Times.

A new childrens' show starts on PBS today. Check your zip code for times.